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Tuesday, 25 September 2012

Dark Market by
Frank Coles both entertained and infuriated me (often at the same time). I’m
not a big fan of the Jack Reacher type of Teflon-coated action man and the
central character in Dark Market,
John Savage, definitely falls into that category. However, there is something
very human about Savage which made me root for him, even when part of my brain
was saying, oh for goodness sake, surely with so many guns and so much muscle against
him he should be dead by now!

This is, first and foremost, an action novel, but it is saved
from being a predictable shoot-em-up by a complex and well thought out plot.
John Savage is an investigator for the Financial Services Agency, but if this
is the type of person they are now using I would say the banking world should be
trembling in fear. Savage returns from the Middle East, where he has been
working as a mercenary, after he finds a link between a murdered news reporter
and the suicide he’d caused years earlier. Once back in his old job at the bank
he begins to delve into crimes, cover ups, scandal and intrigue on a massive
scale. The dark market of the title refers to a ‘game’ whereby anyone with the
right amount of money can arrange for whoever they choose to be an assassin’s
target and the bank is facilitating it. A premise disturbingly possible.

I found the book’s opening section less than engrossing, but
I’m glad I persevered because the book gets better and better as it progresses.
Characterisation is good; even though most of the characters are a bit OTT,
they are still credible.

Would I read another John Savage tale of death and
destruction if Frank Coles produces one? On balance, yes, I would.

Thursday, 20 September 2012

Calling all writers – would you like to win a free critique
of your work (fiction or non-fiction) worth £30? Yes? Then this is the
competition for you to enter. NO ENTRY FEE OR PURCHASE NECESSARY. All you need
to do to be in with a chance of having up to 3,000 words critiqued absolutely free of charge is answer one
simple question – and I’ll even tell you where to find the answer!

To celebrate the paperback launch of Bad Moon Rising, published by Crooked Cat Publishing on Friday 12
October, my alter ego Lorraine
Mace is offering to critique up to 3,000 words, something for which she
would normally charge £30. Full details of what to expect can be found on her critique page.

To enter the competition you need only send an email to frances@lorrainemace.com stating the name and nickname of the pub in
Bradchester which features in Bad
Moon Rising. You don’t even have to buy the book, as you can find the
answer by reading the opening chapters via the ‘Look Inside’ feature on any
Amazon site.

Make sure you put BAD
MOON RISING PAPERBACK COMPETITION in the subject line so that your email is
logged correctly. Each email will be given a number as it arrives and on Friday
12 October the numbers will be put into a large bowl. My husband will be given
the onerous task of picking a winning number from the bowl.

The winner will be announced on this website on paperback
launch day – so don’t hang about. Get reading and send me an email with the
answer. Don’t forget, you have to give the
name of the pub and its nickname. If you only give one of them your entry
will not count.

Friday, 14 September 2012

The I-Spy Murders
is the second Sanford Third Age Club mystery I’ve reviewed and this one is a
great read – not only a whodunnit, but a howdunnit, too! Self-styled brilliant
amateur detective Joe Murray proves his mettle in this most intriguing of
cases. A murder is committed in a closed house with television cameras watching
the inhabitants every move.

Based on the Big Brother set up, the I-Spy television series
welcomes one of Joe’s closest friends, Brenda Jump, as a contestant, which is
why Joe, who would normally rather watch paint dry, ends up glued to the set.
Because of this, when one of the contestants is found dead and declared a
suicide, Joe is the only person convinced a murder has taken place – and in
usual bullish Joe fashion, he’s determined to prove it. In no time at all Joe
is once again centre stage in an investigation where the finger of suspicion
points at all the other contestants, including his friend Brenda.

I’ve no intention of giving away the plot; not least because
it’s so cleverly done it would be a crime in itself to post any spoilers.

One thing I will say, Joe is growing as a character. He is
more human and so more credible. I would certainly recommend this novel as an
entertaining read and am looking forward to the next in the series. I hope
David Robinson is busy writing because his fan club is growing.

Thursday, 13 September 2012

Based on the true-life story of the shipwreck of the Royal
Charter in 1859, The Charter, Gillian Hamer's debut novel, opens with a chilling account told from the point
of view of a child who dies in the disaster. The child’s tale comes back to
haunt both reader and Sarah Morton, the modern-day main character, as we move
with Sarah from the funeral of her estranged father through tragedy, intrigue
and fear.

Instead of a straightforward will, Sarah’s father leaves
instructions which have her fearing even her childhood friends and questioning
everyone’s motives and actions. The Royal Charter was carrying gold from
Australia when it went down with tremendous loss of life. The descendants of
both survivors and rescuers seem to have much to hide and Sarah is soon swept
up in the history of the shipwreck, but nothing and no one is as it seems on
the surface. In a race to find the missing gold, Sarah’s life and sanity is put
in jeopardy again and again.

This well crafted story of greed and intrigue kept me
absorbed from the first page to the last. I would have no hesitation in
recommending The Charter.